Councilman Warrick wants lawsuit against unions dropped

District 2 councilman confident agreement can be reached

SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio District 2 City Council Alan Warrick on Tuesday said the city should drop its lawsuit against the police and firefighter unions.

Warrick said the fact that District Judge Martha Tanner ruled against the city's motions for summary judgments in the lawsuits involving the police and fire union bargaining agreements Monday is a good reason to end the litigation.

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"I have not been convinced of any valid reason to continue the pursuit of litigation to decide this issue, especially now after the ruling of a competent judge," Warrick said.  "Now is the time to relinquish political posturing and personal pride and drop any talk of continued appeals.  I am confident that we are very close to reaching an agreement with the San Antonio Police Officers Association and ultimately the San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association if, and only if, there is no threat of a lawsuit hanging over the organizations."

Warrick said the decision whether to appeal Tanner's ruling should be left to the council.

The city filed lawsuits after the police union and the city disagreed over an evergreen clause.  The evergreen clause allows uniformed public safety employees to keep working up to 10 years after their contract has expired. The city says the clause is unconstitutional because it creates a debt.

The fire union never began talks.


About the Author:

David Ibañez has been managing editor of KSAT.com since the website's launch in October 2000.